Arable Field Margins
Arable field margins are strips or blocks around arable fields that are managed specifically for the benefit of key farmland wildlife.
Photo: Laurie Jackson
Why are they important?
- They support rare and important arable plant species.
- Wild flowers in arable margins provide pollen and nectar for invertebrates such as bumblebees and sawflies
- They provide breeding and feeding habitat for farmland birds.
- Field margins provide corridors through farmland along which animals can move; this will be important as the effects of climate change begin to be felt.
Arable Field Margins in Sussex
Important arable plant species are now restricted to a few locations, usually in the less well-cultivated margins of fields on the South Downs. Farmland birds are widely distributed across the farmed landscape however populations are lower now than 20 years ago.
What are the threats?
- Intensification of arable production, including the use of herbicides and insecticides.
- A shift from spring to winter cropping resulting in a loss of winter stubbles and a reduction in undersown area.
- Reduced rotation of crops with grass leys and fallow land.
- Ploughing closer to the edges and management of edges to keep them tidy.
- Removal of boundaries features to enlarge fields.
Some associated species
- Corn Bunting Emberiza calandra
- European Turtle Dove Streptopelia turtur
- Shrill Carder Bee Bombus sylvarum
- Large Garden Bumblebee Bombus ruderatus
- Red Hemp Nettle Galeopsis angustifolia
- Narrow-fruited Cornsalad Valerianella dentata
Photo: Laurie Jackson
Advice on arable field margins
Buglife
Natural England
Sustainable Arable Farming for an Improved Environment
